It is necessary to periodically inspect and test fuel such as aviation fuel to determine whether the fuel has been contaminated. Typically, a sample of fuel is obtained from a source of fuel such as a transient fuel line or a fuel holding tank, for example. The sample of fuel is inspected and tested for contaminates such as water or particulates, for example.
The techniques employed to obtain the sample of fuel for testing typically involve dispensing a quantity of the fuel to be tested into a container. The act of dispensing the sample of fuel from the fueling system into a container is messy, and also allows the introduction of additional contamination such as water from rain, for example. Such a procedure introduces an undesirable source of an error in inspection or testing of the fuel. Additionally, the collected test sample is typically disposed of in a waste tank to prevent an introduction of contaminants to the source of fuel that may have been introduced to the sample.
The disposal of the sample of fuel being tested wastes fuel. In industries such as the aviation industry where frequent and regular testing of fuel is required, the disposal of the sample of fuel amounts to a substantial quantity of fuel being disposed of rather than being consumed in an engine, for example. The disposal of the sample of fuel increases the costs of providing fuel and wastes limited natural petroleum resources.
It would be desirable to produce a system for collecting a sample of fluid from a source and adapted to reintroduce the sample to the source, whereby the risk of introducing contaminants to the source from the sample is minimized.